CYH Butterfly Strategy
CYH (Community Health Systems, Inc.), in the Healthcare sector, (Medical - Care Facilities industry), listed on NYSE.
Community Health Systems, Inc. (CYH) operates as a major healthcare provider across the United States, focusing on the ownership, leasing, and management of general acute care hospitals. The organization offers a comprehensive array of medical services, including emergency care, general and specialized surgical procedures, critical care, internal medicine, obstetrics, and various diagnostic capabilities. Additionally, they provide psychiatric services, rehabilitation programs, skilled nursing, and in-home care. Beyond its hospital-based offerings, the company delivers outpatient services through a diverse network of facilities. These encompass primary care practices, urgent care centers, independent emergency departments, ambulatory surgery centers, advanced imaging and diagnostic centers, retail health clinics, and direct-to-consumer virtual health consultations. As of December 31, 2021, CYH's holdings included 83 hospitals, either owned or leased.
CYH (Community Health Systems, Inc.) trades in the Healthcare sector, specifically Medical - Care Facilities, with a market capitalization of approximately $423.0M, a beta of 1.86 versus the broader market, a 52-week range of 2.41-4.43, average daily share volume of 1.8M, a public-listing history dating back to 2000, approximately 51K full-time employees. These structural characteristics shape how CYH stock options price implied volatility around earnings windows, capital events, and macro-driven sector rotations.
A beta of 1.86 indicates CYH has historically moved more than the broader market, amplifying both the directional payoff and the realized volatility relative to an index-equivalent position. CYH pays a dividend, which adjusts put-call parity and shifts the ex-dividend pricing across the listed chain.
What is a butterfly on CYH?
A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration.
CYH snapshot
As of August 14, 2026, spot at $2.99, ATM IV 339.90%, IV rank 68.34%, expected move 97.45%. The butterfly on CYH below is built from the end-of-day chain, with strikes snapped to listed contracts and premiums pulled from the bid/ask midpoint at a 35-day expiry.
Why this butterfly structure on CYH specifically: CYH IV at 339.90% is mid-range versus its 1-year history, so strategy selection should anchor more to the directional thesis than to the IV regime, with a market-implied 1-standard-deviation move of approximately 97.45% (roughly $2.91 on the underlying). The 35-day window matched to the front-month expiry keeps theta exposure bounded while still capturing the post-snapshot move; longer-dated CYH expiries trade a higher absolute premium for lower per-day decay. Position sizing on CYH should anchor to the underlying notional of $2.99 per share and to the trader's directional view on CYH stock.
CYH butterfly setup
The CYH butterfly below is built from the end-of-day chain, with each option leg priced at the bid/ask midpoint of its listed strike. With CYH at $2.99 on that close, the first option leg uses a $2.84 strike; additional legs (when the strategy has them) anchor to spot-relative offsets. Premiums come from the bid/ask midpoint on the listed CYH chain at a 35-day expiry; the cross-strike IV skew is reflected directly in the per-leg values rather than approximated. Quantity sizing assumes one contract per option leg (or 100 CYH shares for the stock leg in covered calls and collars).
| Action | Type | Strike / Basis | Premium (est) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buy 1 | Call | $2.84 | N/A |
| Sell 2 | Call | $2.99 | N/A |
| Buy 1 | Call | $3.14 | N/A |
CYH butterfly risk and reward
- Net Premium / Debit
- N/A
- Max Profit (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Max Loss (per contract)
- Unbounded
- Breakeven(s)
- None on modeled curve
- Risk / Reward Ratio
- N/A
Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit.
CYH butterfly payoff curve
Modeled P&L at expiration across a range of underlying prices for the butterfly on CYH. Each row is one sampled price point from the computed payoff curve; the full curve uses 200 price points internally before being summarized into 10 rows here.
When traders use butterfly on CYH
Butterflies on CYH are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CYH to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
CYH thesis for this butterfly
The market-implied 1-standard-deviation range for CYH extends from approximately $0.08 on the downside to $5.90 on the upside. A CYH long call butterfly is a pinning play: it pays maximum at the middle strike if CYH settles there at expiration, with the wing legs capping both the cost and the maximum loss to the net debit. Current CYH IV rank near 68.34% is mid-range against its 1-year distribution, so the IV signal is neutral; the butterfly thesis on CYH should anchor more to the directional view and the expected-move geometry. As a Healthcare name, CYH options can move on sector-level news flow (peer earnings, regulatory updates, industry-specific macro data) in addition to CYH-specific events.
CYH butterfly positions are structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward); the modeled P&L assumes European-style exercise at expiration and ignores early assignment, transaction costs, dividends paid before expiry on the stock leg (when present), and the bid-ask spread on the listed chain. CYH positions also carry Healthcare sector concentration risk; news flow inside the sector (peer earnings, regulatory shifts, supply-chain headlines) can move CYH alongside the broader basket even when CYH-specific fundamentals are unchanged. Always rebuild the position from current CYH chain quotes before placing a trade.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a butterfly on CYH?
- A butterfly on CYH is the butterfly strategy applied to CYH (stock). The strategy is structurally neutral / pin (limited-risk, limited-reward): A long call butterfly buys one lower-strike call, sells two ATM calls, and buys one higher-strike call, paying a small net debit for a defined-risk position that maxes out if the underlying pins the middle strike at expiration. With CYH stock at $2.99 on the most recent close, the strikes shown on this page are snapped to the nearest listed CYH chain strike and the premiums come straight from that session's bid/ask midpoint.
- How are CYH butterfly max profit and max loss calculated?
- Max profit equals the wing width minus net debit times 100 (reached when the underlying pins the middle strike); max loss equals the net debit times 100. Two breakevens at lower-wing plus debit and upper-wing minus debit. For the CYH butterfly priced from the end-of-day chain at a 30-day expiry (ATM IV 339.90%), the computed maximum profit is unbounded per contract and the computed maximum loss is unbounded per contract. Live intraday quotes will differ as the chain moves through the trading session.
- What is the breakeven for a CYH butterfly?
- The breakeven for the CYH butterfly priced on this page is no defined breakeven on the modeled curve at expiration, derived from the end-of-day chain's premiums. Breakeven is the underlying price at which the strategy's P&L crosses zero ignoring transaction costs and assignment risk. The CYH market-implied 1-standard-deviation expected move in the same options snapshot is approximately 97.45%; if the move sits well outside the breakeven distance, the structure's risk-reward becomes correspondingly tighter.
- When should you consider a butterfly on CYH?
- Butterflies on CYH are pinning bets - traders use them when they expect CYH to settle near a specific level at expiration (often the prior close, a round number, or the max-pain strike) and want defined-risk exposure to that outcome.
- How does current CYH implied volatility affect this butterfly?
- CYH ATM IV is at 339.90% with IV rank near 68.34%, which is mid-range against its 1-year history. Strategy selection depends more on directional thesis and expected move than on a strong IV signal.